As you know, Florida real estate for sale is a red hot market. But not all of the neighborhoods in Florida are built the same. That’s why it’s essential to understand where the best neighborhoods in Florida are located, and what makes them a good investment.
In this episode of the Not Your Average Investor Show, we reviewed the following:
- Where the fastest-growing neighborhood in Florida is (SPOILER ALERT: it’s one of JWB’s core neighborhoods)
- How 9 of the state’s fastest-growing neighborhoods are within Jacksonville
- Understanding the way lower-middle-income neighborhoods can appreciate is your competitive advantage
After hearing today’s episode, if the national real estate information is deemed reliable, you’ll be the smartest real estate investor at the water cooler! Jacksonville, Florida, real estate for sale is in high demand because the region offers so much to those looking to live here.
Jacksonville has some of the best neighborhoods in Florida.
People from all over the United States are moving into Florida, seeking a better quality of life. Some of the items on their checklists include the following:
- A great place to live with the diverse city and beach lifestyles
- Thriving urban growth opportunities for young professionals
- Excellent variety of public schools, high schools, and private schools
- Golf courses, bike trails, and lots of green space
- Affordable housing costs for median homes
- A safe place for raising a family and low crime rates
- Day trip driving distance to Central Florida theme parks, Winter Springs, and Palm Beach
Jacksonville, Florida, has all of this to offer and more! That is why Jacksonville is currently the 12th largest city in the nation, holds 9 of Florida’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, and is an excellent investment for those looking for positive cash flow rental properties.
Where are the best neighborhoods in Florida located?
Florida has fast-growing, rapidly appreciating neighborhoods. There is data showing some great information! The fastest-growing 21 neighborhoods in the state of Florida have 9 of those neighborhoods in Jacksonville. These neighborhoods have outperformed the other neighborhoods in the state as far as house appreciation goes. News like this gives us pure joy and excitement for our clients because it generates wealth in these rental properties!
We advise our clients to put their money in these neighborhoods for a full market cycle. We have data to support what we recommend.
People ask about the dynamics that have led to this growth so you can discover what neighborhoods are positioned to perform so well.
When you are looking for affordable neighborhoods, Jacksonville fits the bill. That is one of the reasons why Jacksonville’s neighborhoods are winning the award for affordability out of all the Florida metro areas. That’s why JAX beats Miami and the South Florida cities.
These are the nine fastest-growing neighborhoods, and they are all within a short commute to Downtown Jacksonville. You see neighborhoods on the Northside and Westside of JAX because they are super affordable, are in a desirable location, and the people migrating to Florida want to live there.
These neighborhoods are below-median income. But that’s okay. As people move into Jacksonville, they want more affordable areas, which is why these neighborhoods are growing and appreciating so rapidly. People want value for their money, and they are getting it in these neighborhoods.
“You don’t have to eat McDonald’s hamburgers to invest in McDonald’s stock.”
Would you want to live in these neighborhoods? Maybe not. These are not the best neighborhoods with the best schools. However, suppose you separate what you would live in from what you invest in. In that case, you will see that these neighborhoods are worthy of investment because they are attracting renters, positive cash flow, and rapid appreciation. That is why when you create a rental property for your residents in a developing area, your investments are solid.
Why do so many people want to invest in Jacksonville’s turnkey rental properties?
Appreciation, taxes, positive cash flow, and hedging against inflation are just a few reasons why real estate investors desire Florida real estate for sale.
When the Great Recession happened and real estate reached the market’s bottom in 2012, these neighborhoods showed the highest appreciation rates. For example, Arlington is one of our neighborhoods. A few years ago, we had a lot of inventory in Arlington. Over time, the prices of homes in Arlington have gone up, and investors are having a more challenging time finding affordable, positive cash flow rentals in the Arlington area. It’s a cyclical phenomenon, and we see this growth taking place all over Duval County, which covers the entire city of Jacksonville.
What is the appreciation in these Jacksonville neighborhoods?
This chart shows the following nine neighborhoods in Jacksonville that made the top 21 fastest growing neighborhoods:
- #1 Lackawanna
- #2 Mixon Town
- #4 Magnolia Gardens
- #5 Kennel Club
- #8 New Town
- #9 College Gardens
- #11 Robinson’s Addition
- #12 Woodstock
- #13 Grand Park
The home price appreciation for these neighborhoods are as low as 129% to a whopping 374%! Let’s look at how they rank for home price appreciation:
- 129% New Town
- 134% Robinson’s Addition
- 150% Magnolia Gardens
- 187% Grand Park
- 189% Mixon Town
- 191% Lackawanna
- 201% Woodstock
- 284% College Gardens
- 374% Kennel Club
To add, Lackawanna, the fastest growing neighborhood in Florida, has been rising through the fastest-growing communities over a 10-year cycle, and it continues. These numbers are not a flash-in-the-pan, nor a one-hit-wonder. These are solid neighborhoods with continued growth and are worth investing in.
What are the differences between Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D neighborhoods?
Class A = Home prices are high, school ratings are high, amenities are high, and highly desirable neighborhoods. Neighborhoods in JAX in Class A are Mandarin, Ponte Vedra, anything by the beaches.
Class B = Middle home prices, mid-range school ratings, and mid-level amenities are a little more affordable than Class A.
Class C = Lower-middle home prices, lower-middle school ratings, and lower-middle amenities are below the median home sales price. This class of neighborhood is where JWB tends to renovate and build new construction for renters.
Class D = These are not areas where JWB invests because they are too risky. We do not want to put our Property Management team or our investors into these neighborhoods because they do not perform well.
If you want to live in a Class A neighborhood, that’s great. But that’s not where you want to invest. If you’re going to invest your money and have positive cash flow with higher appreciation, you would do well to invest in JWB’s Class C neighborhoods. There are plenty of renters who are very happy living in these neighborhoods.
What does the Lackawanna neighborhood look like?
It’s relatively rural, with nice big lots and older houses. It’s the fastest-growing neighborhood in the State of Florida, but you may not want to live here yourself because the typical street looks less manicured than you may desire. Still, it’s a well-established community with a large population of renters, which is excellent news for JWB turnkey rental property investors.
Though the appearance of the Lackawanna neighborhood may not look polished, when you look at the numbers and how these rental properties perform, this area is a solid winner for those looking to purchase Florida real estate for sale. For turnkey rental investments, it is best to take the emotion out of the purchase and look at the facts around Return On Investment.
What is the elevation on the lots we invest in?
We do not buy properties that are at risk of flooding. The properties we purchase are away from the beaches and the rivers. Therefore, there is little risk of flooding, even as climate change continues rising sea levels. In the fifteen years that JWB has invested in Jacksonville real estate, we have not experienced flooding problems caused by rising sea levels.
Why are these neighborhoods growing so rapidly?
Since the Great Recession, the building of new homes has been low. We have underbuilt to sustain the demand in Florida. JWB is not worried about having too many homes on the market in the short run or the median run. In the long run, we will see the building of new homes slow down, but that is a normal part of the real estate cycle. The good news is that rentals continue to perform, even though more homes are being built.
When you meet with JWB to discuss investing in our turnkey rental properties, we do not promise home price appreciation. Instead, we focus on the positive cash flow that rentals generate for our investors. As home prices continue to rise and fall through the cycles, these rentals still perform well compared to the stock market and other asset classes.
Where are the Class D areas in Jacksonville?
Mostly around Downtown Jacksonville. There is not a lot of residential housing in this area. Still, we hope that as we continue to make more significant investments in Downtown Jacksonville, we will be creating rental properties that will grow and improve the neighborhood over time.
What ZIP Codes are Class C?
The nine fastest-growing neighborhoods in Jacksonville where JWB is currently selling turnkey rental properties to investors include the following ZIP codes:
- 32201
- 32204
- 32207
- 32209
- 32210
- 32254
How long does it take for a neighborhood to go from Class C to Class B?
Invest for that neighborhood based on the numbers you see today. If it happens to move up or down, that’s fine because they still perform well as rental properties. JWB is not so big and powerful that we can single-handedly change the class of a neighborhood, but we do beautify these neighborhoods with our renovations and new construction.
Howdo you identify what is happening within a cyclical market?
To identify whether we are overvalued or undervalued compared to the median price is where you determine where you are within the cycle. If you look at where we are today, our pricing is right where it should be. That’s one point of data we use.
We compare the current data with the projected data, and we have a guest coming to the show with a lot of real estate data to share with us about where we are in the cycle. Join us for that upcoming Not Your Average Investor Show with John Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting on Tuesday, October 19, 2021!
Can investors get commercial properties through JWB?
Not now. It’s way too risky, and we are using our personal money to invest in these Downtown Jacksonville renovations. We are not asking our investors to join us in these risky investments because we would rather be the guinea pigs ourselves in this endeavor, not our clients. However, we highly advise our investors to place their money in the safer, favorable performing Class C neighborhoods we offer.
Will home prices in Jacksonville continue to go up?
Yes, all signs are showing that home prices for JAX will continue to grow. Right now, there is more demand than we’ve ever had for buying properties. Everything we buy, build, and renovate, we sell to our investors. We need to make sure our investors are happy to make money with us, and that includes having inventory for them to purchase.
How Do I Find Out More About Investing With JWB?
Contact the JWB team to begin the discussion. If you want to invest in Jacksonville real estate, now is a great time to jump in. Go to www.ChatWithJWB.com and find out how we can help you reach your financial goals.
If you want to become part of the JWB online community, join us in the JWB Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/CashFlowProperties.
You can also go to www.JWBInventory.com to see what properties are currently available. We encourage you to contact the JWB team for a consultation to determine how our turnkey rental properties can deliver positive passive cash flow.
We hope you enjoyed learning about the best neighborhoods in Florida and the Florida real estate for sale in the Jacksonville market. If you are a real estate investor who wants to purchase turnkey single-family homes from JWB, contact us today at www.ChatWithJWB.com. These neighborhoods within the Jacksonville real estate market are on track for continuous growth, and JWB is excited to help many investors grow their wealth through single-family home rentals.
To Your Success,
Gregg Cohen
